This invention relates to an apparatus for the storage of sports equipment and, in particular snowboards and skis.
The proper storage of sportboards, such as snowboards and skis is necessitated by the fact that if these items are not properly stored they may injure persons, they may become damaged, or the surrounding area may become damaged. Because of their generally unusual shapes, sizes or characteristics many sportboards can not generally be satisfactorily stored on shelves. If leaned against a wall, they tend to fall over because of their rounded ends, and they therefore pose a hazard to anyone nearby who might be hit by the falling equipment, or to someone who later trips over it.
For these reasons, a storage apparatus for sportboards, which apparatus provides a means to stably and securely store the board, is required. This apparatus should be adaptable to different sizes of sportboards, and it should be simple to manufacture, install and use.
There is provided a storage apparatus for sportboards with a varying width, which apparatus provides a means to stably and securely store a sportboard, is adaptable to different sizes of sportboards, and is simple to manufacture, install and use. The apparatus is particularly useful for the storage of snowboards and skis.
The apparatus of this invention will store any sportboard with a tapered section that results in the board having at least two different widths, a minimum width and a maximum width, along its length. Boards that meet this criterion can be stored by this apparatus, which uses a similar mechanism for all boards which have a varying width. The apparatus is particularly suited and suitable for the storage of generally planar sportboards that are narrower in the middle and wider at one or both ends, such as snowboards and parabolic skis, however it is not intended to be limited to only these types of sportboards.
The sportboard storage apparatus is mountable onto a support surface, and comprises a back member and two gripping members which each have an inner edge that grips an edge of the sportboard. In a preferred embodiment the gripping members are operatively connected to the back member such that the distance between the gripping members can be adjusted and then fixed.
To store a sportboard such as a snowboard in a vertically mounted apparatus according to the present invention, the distance between the two gripping members is first adjusted so that it is greater than the minimum width of the snowboard but less than the maximum width of the snowboard. A narrow part of the snowboard is then inserted between the two gripping members and the board is lowered until the sides of a wider part of the board engages the gripping members. The inner edges of the gripping members grip the edges of the snowboard, thereby holding the board in the apparatus.
In an alternative embodiment of the apparatus which can store two sportboards, such as pair of skis, a center member is attached to the back member about midway between the two gripping members, each of which include a gripping edge facing toward the center member. The center member includes two gripping edges, one of which is positioned facing the gripping member on one side and the other of which faces the gripping member on the other side. To store a pair of skis, the narrow part of one of the skis is inserted between the center member and one of the gripping members and the ski is lowered (in a vertically mounted apparatus) until the sides of the ski engage against and are held by the gripping edges of the center member and the gripping member on one side. The other ski is similarly mounted between the center member and the gripping member on the other side.
In yet another embodiment the apparatus is convertible between an apparatus that holds only one sportboard and one that holds two sportboards, simply by the removable attachment of a center member.
It is preferred that the distance between the gripping members be adjustable, as described above, because this renders the apparatus adaptable to sportboards of various sizes. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the distance between the gripping members is not adjustable, limiting the use of an apparatus made to use with sportboards having certain minimum and maximum diameters.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the edges of the gripping and center members are angled, such that there is less than a 90 degree angle between these edges and the front face of the back member. In another embodiment of the invention, the edges of the gripping and center members comprise a compressible member. Both of these embodiments function to grip the sportboard and hold it in the apparatus.
In another preferred embodiment, the gripping and center members have edges that are curved along their longitudinal axis, to approximate the taper of the part of the sportboard that is in the apparatus. This feature increases the amount of contact between the edges of the sportboard, and the edges of the gripping and/or center member, thereby increasing the force with which the sportboard is held in the apparatus.